Resources

In business writing the main goal is to prove a point. Whether it be to change a price or introduce a new product, one has to persuade. In order to do this effectively in the cooporate world, you will need hard facts to back up your propositions. The resourses used in business writing will most likely be some sort of financial statistic, or a scholarly technique used in businesses past. These facts and statisitics must be current and correct in order to be used. One can find correct, and trustworthy information on a database. Databases offer papers and articles that have been written by academically notable individuals, and therefore will be taken seriously by the audience of the paper. It is important that any financial statistics used are current so that the evidence can be used for a gain in today's business markets.

Common Organization

Writing in the business arena typically has one main goal, but can be expressed through many different types and styles of writing. One can get their message across by e-mail, summary, report, resume, timesheet, balancesheet, newsletter, and memorandum to only name a few. The point of all these formats is to get a point to the audience, whomever it may be. In addition to the normal greeting and polite closing, the body of the writitings will be set up in the order of the good news, a direct request, and then a persuasive message. The order gives a positive spin on the paper, and then clearly presents what is wanted or needed and gives good eveidence to back it up. By making the papers clear and to the point no time will be wasted, making this the most effective way to organize writings in the business world.

Librarian Interview

When my group interviewed the business librarian about the specific writing styles used in formal business writing she offered a lot of helpful information. First she informed us that most professionals use the ARA style of writng, but it is entirely up to the individual and most of the writing done in the business world is based upon a more general periodical literature. It is important that the person writing has checked the research to make sure the facts are trustworthy and any financial statistics are correct. The best datebase sites to reference include "Standard and pores net info" as well as "ABI/ inform".

Graduate Writing Styles

Continuing on, Michael Andoscia's interview, he said that "...graduate students, unlike undergrads, have to be more assertive in their assessment. They will have to use APA writing techniques, and will have to use more quantitative researched and well developed citations."

Graduate's will have to use more quantitative data, which includes more numbers and business sources. They will also have to use more APA writing formats, which increases in the difficulty.

Undergraduate Writing Styles

According to the librarian of Business Relations at Florida Gulf Coast University, Kay Oisatd, "...undergraduate students will primarily be using MLA and ARA formats..."

Michael Andoscia, Intro to Business and Sociology Professor, stated that "students need to focus on the basics, especially as undergraduate students...In order for them to prove their point they need to stick to qualitative data rather than quantitative."

Business writing can be quite "difficult" according to Professor Andoscia. Like previously mentioned, Andoscia feels that the undergraduate students need to stay with more qualitative data rather than quantitative data. He explains this by saying, "...when using MLA, you need to be convincing to your audience...if you don't sound convincing your audience will no longer listen to you and become bored. This is more common with quantitative data."

When using qualitative data, you are more likely to capture the interest of your readers, which is what you need to be doing, especially in a Marketing Job field.

Interview with Professor Andoscia

I had an interview with an Into to Sociology and Into to Business Professor, Professor Andoscia.

He had these key points about business writing and styles:

"Short Sentences.
- You use short sentences in order to make what you say brief and understandable.

Appealing.
-You try to appeal to who you are selling or talking to.

Citations.
-Try and cite as many credible sources as possible, do NOT sound like unsure about what you're writing about.

Make Sense:
-Don't flip-flop on your project, you must keep your key point straight and focus."

Business Marketing Writing

The criteria for writing a good business marketing paper are simple. The papers most read somewhat fluidly and have no mistakes and must have reputable sources and facts. Most marketing papers give information about the general market that the product or products of the business are being sold in. It usually will tell about the competition and how about they go about marketing their product. You will have to tell about the product of products that you are marketing and tell to whom you are marketing them. You will have to explain about your ideas and strategies for advertising and promotions. At the end of a marketing plan or some type of business-marketing piece you tell about what you expect in the future for both the company and the marketing strategy and how you wish to further expand and grow. A good source for anyone interested is business marketing is http://www.marketing.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=1 which is the homepage for the business marketing association or known as the (BMA).

Citations

Common Business APA Citation Styles

Since business writing uses APA format its pretty simple to cite for a business paper in APA format. From research I found that you need to cite the reference in the paper’s text as (last name or company name, year.) So citations are pretty straight forward so I found a couple of examples you might find in some kind of business literature, it shows to annual report quotes from the internet and it shows how someone would quote a stock information off the internet.


Annual Reports
Citigroup, Inc. (2003). Annual Report 2003. Retrieved December 1, 2003, from the Factiva database http://global.factiva.com

Arrow International, Inc. (2003). 10-K Annual Report 2003. Retrieved July 25, 2003, from SEC EDGAR database http://sec.gov/edgar

Stock Information from Internet:
NYSE. (2003, July 25). Gap Inc. stock quote. Yahoo! finance. Retrieved July 25, 2003, from http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=GPS&d=t
Originator of quote. (Quote date, including month and day if available). Description of
information including company name. Internet source for quote. Date accessed,
Internet location.

http://library.csusm.edu/subject_guides/business/bus_style.asp

Marketing Plan

One of the most typical types of business writing is a marketing plan. This is usually practiced in both undergraduate and graduate students who have some kind of marketing related major. A marketing plan is an in-depth overview of how someone will market and expose a business. A marketing plan usually covers a one-year period, so a new marketing plan is needed annually. Where as is a business plan you point out everything in the business and more of the vision on the business. The marketing plan is more concentrated of the aspects of your business marketing goals and all the other variables needed and used for marketing. A marketing plan is a step-by-step guide for a company's success. It's more important than a business vision statement. To put together a genuine marketing plan, you have to assess your company from top to bottom and make sure all the pieces are working together in the best way. So if you are ever planning to have some kind of career is business marketing, a marketing plan will be something you will have to master. Here is an example of a marketing plan: (http://www.businesstown.com/marketing/plans-sample.asp)